Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-10-19
LEATHER FROM HUMAN SKIN.
a PennsY!vanis Tennery WHARF, 1t Is Pr
pared for the Shoemaker.
Philadelphia News,


Philadelphia News,
remember that two or three years az
l incidentally referred to a p7omlnen
physician of this city wearing shoes made
from the skin of negroes. He still ad-
heres to that custom, insisting that the
tanned hide of an African makes the mos
enduring ana the most pliable leather
known to man.
Only last week 1 met him upon thi
street with brand new pair of shoes. l
looked at his foot wear, as l always do
his pedal coverings have an irresistible
fascination for mend said with 8
smile, sis the down trodden African still
beneath your feet?" Ia the most matter
of-fact way, aud without the shadow of 8
smile, he answered: az suppose yon
mean to Inquire If still wear
shoes made Of the skin of negro. l Ger
tsinly do, and l don't propose changing
in that respect until find leather tina
is softer and will last longer and present
q better appearance. l have no
sentiment about this matter. Were
I souEherner-in the American
sense of that world might be
accused of being sc'uateG by race preiu-
11oa L UII q 4O1ClSACA Wy Ul1G Gj
although now al American citizen bY
naturalization. fought in The rebellion
that the blacks might be freed. ! would
use white mans skin for the same puC-
pose If it were sufficiently thick, and if
anyone has desire to wear my epider-
mis- upon MS fest after I have drawn my
last bresthshe has my anEe-mortem per-
mission"
THn ~ onn al 5DS
peculiarly rich lustrousness in their
blackness He assures me that they
never hurt his feet. The new pair he
was using when l last saw him omitted
no creaking sound and appeared as COM
Portable IS though they mad been worn o
month. Their predecessor, he told me,
had been in constant use for eight
months. He obtains the skin
rom the bodies CT negroes
which have been dissected il ore
of our big medical colleges. The best
leather is obtained from the thighs. The
soles are formed by placing seversl
layers OF leather together. The skin is
prepared by tanner etWCmelsdori, six
teen miles from Reading. The shoes are
fashioned by & French shoemaker OF this
city, who knows nothing Of the true chsr-
acter OF the leather, but who often Won
ders ct its exquisite emoOthness and says
that it excels the finest French calfSkin.
Do you think for moment that this
doctor presents an exceptional c6se Of
one who puts the humsn SKIN to prscti-
cal use. Medical students fTegQeutly
display a create variety CT articles IN
which the skin or bones Of some dissected
mortal has been gruesOmely utilized and
in bursts OF generosity they sometimes
present these to their friends, Who
prize them highly. Oge of the dudest
dudes in town carries q match case
covered with portion OF the skin Gf d
beautiful young woman VINO was found
drowned in the Delaware river. It still
retains it's natural color. Another young
man with whom l GQ acquainted carries
cigar case made OF negro skin, g
CHASTITY skull and cross-bOnes appearing
on one side in relief. One of the best
known surgeons in this country who re-
sides in this city, has q beautiful in
strument case entirely covered with
leather made from an Africans skin. a
young society lady Of this city wears d
beautiful pair of dark slippers, the re-
markable Iustrousness of whose leather
invariably excites the admiration Of her
friends when they see them. The young
DOCTOR who presented them to her re-
Gently returned from an extended foreign
tour, and be told her that ne had pur-
chased them from q Tuf in Alex
andria and that he did not know what
sort ct leather they were made of, bu5
supposed it was the skin of some wild
animal. AS g. matter OF fact, the skin
came from negro csdaver which once
was prone on q Jefferson College d.ssect-
ing table, and the leather was prepared in
WomelsdOrf. The rOsettes on the slip
pers were deity fashioned from the
negro kigky hair. -